Simple Past – Grammar & Verb Tenses

Summary

This educational video explains the simple past tense in English, highlighting its use for describing finished actions in the past. The video covers the formation of simple past verbs, including regular verbs (which add -ed, e.g., 'watched') and irregular verbs (which change form, e.g., 'ate'). The verb 'be' is also discussed, with its two past forms 'was' and 'were'. Examples such as 'I ate dinner' and 'She played the guitar' illustrate the tense's usage. The video concludes by encouraging viewers to create their own sentences in the simple past tense.

Takeaways

• 😀 Verb tenses indicate when an action takes place, with the simple past being used for actions that are completed in the past.
• 😀 The simple past tense is formed using the base verb + -ed for regular verbs.
• 😀 Regular verbs use the same past tense form for all subjects (e.g., 'watch' becomes 'watched').
• 😀 For example: 'I walked my dog yesterday' and 'She played the guitar at my party last month'.
• 😀 Irregular verbs do not follow the -ed rule and change to a completely different form (e.g., 'eat' becomes 'ate').
• 😀 The simple past form of 'eat' is 'ate' and is used for all subjects (e.g., 'I ate dinner yesterday').
• 😀 The verb 'be' is an exception and has two forms in the past tense: 'was' (singular) and 'were' (plural).
• 😀 Examples of simple past sentences with 'be': 'I was cold yesterday' and 'They were happy last week'.
• 😀 Irregular verbs examples include: 'do' → 'did', 'drink' → 'drank', 'go' → 'went', 'have' → 'had'.
• 😀 In the simple past tense, the verb form remains the same for all subjects, except for 'be'.
• 😀 The video concludes with an activity where viewers can form their own simple past sentences from a given picture.

Q & A

What does verb tense show?

Verb tenses show the time that an action takes place.

What is the simple past tense used for?

The simple past tense is used for finished past actions.

Can you give an example of a sentence in the simple past tense?

Sure! For example, 'I watched a movie yesterday.'

How do we form the simple past tense with regular verbs?

With regular verbs, we add '-ed' to the verb to form the simple past tense.

What is the simple past form of the verb 'watch'?

The simple past form of 'watch' is 'watched.'

What happens with irregular verbs in the simple past tense?

With irregular verbs, the verb changes into a different form, and we do not use '-ed'.

Can you list a few irregular verbs and their simple past forms?

Here are some examples: do (did), drink (drank), eat (ate), go (went), have (had), run (ran), say (said), sing (sang), sleep (slept), write (wrote).

Is the verb form the same for all subjects in the simple past tense?

Yes, the verb form is the same for all subjects in the simple past tense, whether it’s I, you, he, she, we, or they.

How is the verb 'be' unique in the simple past tense?

The verb 'be' is unique because it has two different forms in the simple past tense: 'was' and 'were'.

What are some examples of sentences using 'was' and 'were' in the simple past tense?

For example: 'I was cold yesterday afternoon.' (using 'was') and 'My new shoes were expensive.' (using 'were').